Kumi Yamashita, Mana #2, 2013
Kumi Yamashita, Mana #2, 2013, detail
Kumi Yamazhita, Mana #2, 2013, detail
Kumi Yamashita, Erik, 2007
I recently discovered the Constellation Series by Kumi Yamashita, and since then I can't stop looking at her pieces. In this series, the portraits are constructed using three simple materials: a wooden board painted white, galvanized steel nails, and a single unbroken piece of sewing thread. Yes, you read that correctly, an unbroken thread. Understandably then, the portraits take months. I can only imagine the extensive conceptualizing and planning that must go into these pieces. The detail shots of Mana #2 really illustrate how the placement of each thread and the shapes that they create, not only affect the way the work is perceived from a distance, but create little microcosms that are beautiful even when inspected apart from the work as a whole. I also really love how the image comes to life through the layered threads and the textured gradients of white to black that they create.
Some of her work is now on display at the Scott White Contemporary Gallery in La Jolla. Just another reason to wish I was vacationing in Cali!
Some of her work is now on display at the Scott White Contemporary Gallery in La Jolla. Just another reason to wish I was vacationing in Cali!